Changes in summer Arctic wind patterns contribute not only to an unprecedented loss of Arctic sea ice, but could also bring about shifts in North American and European weather, according to a new NOAA-led study published today in Geophysical Research Letters. - read more »

A new NOAA analysis finds that the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during September was 67°F, 1.4°F above the long-term average. The January-September period was the warmest first nine months of any year on record for the contiguous United States. - read more »

Today’s launch of a European environmental satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will enable NOAA to continue capturing data that feed sophisticated, numerical prediction models used to forecast weather and climate in the United States, according to the agency’s top satellite official. - read more »

According to NOAA's NCDC, the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for August was the fourth highest on record for August at 61.22°F (16.22°C), or 1.12°F (0.62°C), above the 20th century average. On August 26, Arctic sea ice dipped below the record smallest daily extent, previously set on Sept. 18, 2007. (full report, summary) - read more »

NOAA scientists also report that the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during August was 74.4°F, 1.6°F above the long-term average, marking the 16th warmest August on record. The monthly analysis is produced by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. See the summary and the full report. - read more »